Skip to main content
Menu

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

Headspace 9

Self Identities - Making Connections

Previous exhibition
from Saturday 12 September until Sunday 15 November 2009

Headspace 9 is an exhibition of outstanding student self portraits (paintings, drawings, printmaking, photography and media arts) by Year 10, 11 and 12 school students that will engage a national audience.

Rose’s afternoon delight, 2009 by Rose Hammer
Rose’s afternoon delight, 2009 by Rose Hammer

The National Portrait Gallery invited Years 10, 11 and 12 students from schools around Australia to make portraits in response to the theme Self Identity - making connections. Headspace 9 shows self portraits that deal with connections to place and family, relationships to objects and possessions, the passing of time, moods and emotions, and events that have significant impact on growing up. This exhibition invites us to consider and discover the students’ stories of self, and make meaning of their diverse visual representations. The National Portrait Gallery is committed to providing students with an opportunity to exhibit portraits, rigorously engage with the creative process as well as connecting with other students.

The aim of Headspace is to expand secondary students’ understanding of self portraiture, to explore its possibilities as an art form, and to express ideas about self identity. Through self portraiture students can examine and express much about themselves – how they fit comfortably or otherwise into a community; real or virtual, local or national, family or friends. The National Portrait Gallery congratulates all the artists who submitted work for Headspace 9 and thanks them for their generosity in so willingly sharing their artistic insights.

34 portraits

1 Break away, 2009 by Blake Williams. 2 Untitled, 2009 by Sam Wiechula. 3 Wrapped in the media, 2009 by Annabel Kavanagh. 4 Which way from here?, 2009 by Daniel De Valentin. 5 Myself, 2009 by Tori Berquist. 6 Self portrait, 2009 by Spencer Harvie.
© National Portrait Gallery 2024
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia

Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency